Financial System Performance and Economic Growth in Iran: Some Stylized Facts

To reply to the question of whether financial development leads to economic growth or financial development benefits come from economic growth, macro-financial economics literature suggests testing a two-way and even non-linearity relationship. In this paper, by applying markov-switching approach, we investigate the two-way linkage between universal financial development indicators (in aspects of depth, international flows, access, efficiency, and stability) and total and sectoral (agriculture, industry, and services) growth in 3rd to 11th cabinet after the revolution (1982-2017). Evidence reveals that there are co-movements between different aspects of financial development and real sector growth regimes (except 9th and 10th cabinets); such that, ome stylized facts are supporting the financial services supply-leading hypothesis. Moreover, there are more than 60 notes (in 1st and 2nd development programs) and articles (in 3rd, 4th and 5th development programs) related to the financial system, which are made without a comprehensive strategy and are based on financial repressions and sectoral discriminations; therefore, they did not contribute to "balanced financial development".